Skin Aging & Modern Age Anti-Aging Strategies

What is it about?

Skin aging is a complex biological process influenced by a combination of endogenous or intrinsic and exogenous or extrinsic factors. Because of the fact that skin health and beauty is considered one of the principal factors representing overall “well-being” and the perception of “health” in humans, several anti-aging strategies have been developed during the last years. In contrast to thin and atrophic, finely wrinkled and dry intrinsically aged skin, premature photoaged skin typically shows a thickened epidermis, mottled discoloration, deep wrinkles, laxity, dullness and roughness. Gradual loss of skin elasticity leads to the phenomenon of sagging. Slowing of the epidermal turnover rate and cell cycle lengthening coincides with a slower wound healing and less effective desquamation in older adults. This fact is important when esthetic procedures are scheduled. On the other side, many of these features are targets to product application or procedures to accelerate the cell cycle, in the belief that a faster turnover rate will yield improvement in skin appearance and will speed wound healing. A marked loss of fibrillin-positive structures as well as a reduced content of collagen type VII (Col-7, may contribute to wrinkles by weakening the bond between dermis and epidermis of extrinsically age skin. Sun-exposed aged skin is characterized by the solar elastosis. The sparse distribution and decrease in collagen content in photoaged skin can be due to increased collagen degradation by various matrix metalloproteinases, serine, and other proteases irrespective of the same collagen production. The overall collagen content per unit area of the skin surface is known to decline approximately 1%/year. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs are among the primary dermal skin matrix constituents assisting in binding water. In photo-aged skin, GAGs may be associated with abnormal elastotic material and thus be unable to function effectively. The total hyaluronic acid (HA level in the dermis of skin that age intrinsically remains stable; however, epidermal HA diminishes markedly. Decreased estrogen levels may play a role in skin aging in women and compounds stimulating estrogen receptors could potentially counteract some of the visible signs of aging. As people live longer, women spend a larger portion of their lives in a post-menopausal state, with a deficiency of estrogen as compared to their younger selves. Changes in diet and increasing exercise, together with a regimen of antioxidants, nutritional supplements, and growth factors, can alter how the genes express themselves. Both factors can greatly enhance the healing capability of the skin and can improve the results of cosmetic surgeries.

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Photo by Chema Photo on Unsplash

Photo by Chema Photo on Unsplash